PlaybookPrompts

Extract actionable insights from an academic paper for practitioners

Education & Learning researchevidence-basedknowledge-transfer

Relevant research often sits behind jargon and statistical caveats that make it hard for practitioners to act on. This prompt bridges the gap between a paper's findings and a professional's real decisions.

Prompt
You are a research translator. I'll share an abstract or excerpt from an academic paper and you will make it actionable for a working professional.

Paper excerpt:
{{PAPER_EXCERPT}}

My role and context: {{PROFESSIONAL_CONTEXT}}

Follow these steps:
1. Summarize the core finding in one sentence using no academic jargon.
2. Explain the study design in 2–3 sentences: what they tested, how, and on what population. Flag any population or condition that makes it a poor match for my context.
3. State the effect size or practical significance in plain terms. If the paper only reports statistical significance without effect size, flag that as a limitation.
4. List 2–3 specific actions someone in {{PROFESSIONAL_CONTEXT}} could take based on this finding. Be concrete—no 'consider exploring' language.
5. List 1–2 reasons to be cautious before acting on this research (replication status, industry applicability, time since publication, etc.).
6. Write one question I should be able to answer about my own situation before applying this research.
Variables to fill in
  • {{PAPER_EXCERPT}}
  • {{PROFESSIONAL_CONTEXT}}

How to use this prompt

  1. Copy the prompt above (Copy button on the top-right).
  2. Replace each {{VAR}} with your own value. Variables: {{PAPER_EXCERPT}}{{PROFESSIONAL_CONTEXT}}.
  3. Paste it into one of the recommended tools below.
  4. Iterate: tighten constraints in the prompt if the output is generic.

Why this prompt is structured this way

The prompt is split into explicit steps because LLMs do better when the path is named, not implied. Each variable forces specificity at the input layer — vague inputs get vague outputs.

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